Vision 2020 Progresses

In March, the International Coffee Organization (ICO), the 4C Association and IDH, The Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH), signed a memo of understanding to establish a multilateral partnership for public-private collaboration.

The partners are working together “…to promote sustainable development as a means of achieving social and economic progress in coffee producing countries while protecting natural resources,” according to a blog post announcing the agreement. The post describes ICO as the public partner, an intergovernmental body; the 4C Association as uniting private partners through its multi-stakeholder platform; and IDH “…as the convener of large-scale mainstream Public Private Partnerships (PPPs).”

ICO credits Vision 2020 discussions as a catalyst for the partnership. In May, the partners hosted two online webinars to continue to formalize what this collaboration means. The report, now available on the 4C site, summarizes the webinar proceedings and states: “Vision 2020 is based on the belief that single entities alone cannot effectively bring about change in the current coffee sustainability landscape.”